“Discomfort” when I took over as President.

Today, the field of children's learning is undergoing an era of great change. By nature, each of us is full of individual potential. Our vision is for children "to fall in love with learning". We are working step by step toward developing a new style of education that combines digital learning tools with traditional paper-based resources.
To be honest, it was a very long road to get to this point. We have been providing children with one-size-fits-all paper-based materials for a very long time, in line with Japanese Education Ministry guidelines. Because it was a protected industry, the organization had become rigid; many aspects of our operations made no sense from a business standpoint. When I took over as president in 2004, I had a sense of discomfort that there were a lot of issues to address, but it was challenging to break with common sense and the systems we had built up in the industry. And in a way, those aspects reflected how we had made it that far. Now, twenty years later, and together with colleagues inside and outside the company. we have moved our business and organization to a much better place.

Overcoming the fear of becoming risk-takers who might turn our company upside down.

The catalyst for change came when I attended an outside study group where I learned about Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow theory-based management. I wondered what it meant for people to “work proactively”. I became interested in the idea and tried what I could do in my own way to change the company. I began sending sunflowers, our corporate symbol, to employees on their birthdays, holding training sessions, and so forth. But after a while, things would go back to the way they were before. So, little by little, while consulting with friends I met at the study group, I became more and more determined to change the company from the inside out. It was around that time that I met Takeshi Muranaka of Imacocollabo.
To bring about that change, it would not be enough to just have someone from the outside come and pat us on the back. For us to shake things up in our industry, we would have to turn inward, face our discomfort, and adopt an attitude of “when in Rome, do as the Romans don’t.” I knew this in my head, but I was afraid of challenging the status quo on our own. Our organization lacked leaders who could truly bring about change, so we called out to allies we trusted from outside the company to join us, including Imacocollabo. We replaced board members – becoming risk-takers who might turn our company upside down. I faced that fear in myself, and from there we began to slowly make changes. We changed the production process of our teaching materials, changed our internal evaluation system that had been based on seniority, hired and trained new managers, and so on. In this way, by taking one action at a time, I also became able to delegate tasks to others.

Together with our coworkers, we are creating a place where vision can flow and circulate.

Looking back, I often focused my anger on my employees and tried to control them, demanding to know why they weren’t doing what needed to be done. But what I have always truly wanted is for everyone – employees, educators, and children – to have smiles on their faces. Becoming aware of the sincerity of this core desire made it possible to use it as a driving force to weave together relationships that are aligned with this desire. So our practice has been to re-form the company as a space where these visions circulate. We have been able to do this thanks to the Imacocollabo team as well as the partners who co-create this place. These partners can be from outside the company as well as within the company. I believe it is important to be able to connect with people who are genuinely passionate about what they do, without barriers.
This industry is going through a period of great change. New players are entering the field, so it is essential for business continuity to raise the organization to the next level. I want children to be able to engage in learning with a sense of play, and I like to incorporate playful elements such as Disney characters and games into our digital drills.
We aim to lead the way in providing forms of education that are tailored to every child. We are committed to supporting children in realizing their potential, together with our co-creation partners.